Open AccessUsing Social Media for the Prevention of Pediatric Burn Injuries: Pilot Design and Usability Study
Author(s) -
Nikita Batra,
Cindy D Colson,
Emily C. Alberto,
Randall S. Burd
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
jmir formative research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2561-326X
DOI - 10.2196/23242
Subject(s) - social media , medicine , headline , usability , injury prevention , medical emergency , occupational safety and health , burn injury , poison control , advertising , surgery , computer science , business , pathology , human–computer interaction , world wide web
Background Most pediatric burn injuries are preventable. Social media is an effective method for delivering large-scale messaging and may be useful for injury prevention in this domain. Objective This study evaluates the feasibility of creating a social media campaign for pediatric burn injury prevention. Methods Ad spots containing a headline, short introduction, and video were created and posted on Facebook and Instagram over 4 months. Ad spots were targeted to parents and caregivers of children in our region with the highest number of burn injuries. We assessed the impact of each ad set using ThruPlays, reach, and video plays. Results We created 55 ad spots, with an average length of 24.1 (range 10-44) seconds. We reached 26,496 people during the campaign. The total ThruPlays of the 55 ad spots were 14,460 at US $0.19 per ThruPlay. Ad spots related to home safety had a significantly higher daily ThruPlay rate than those related to fire safety (6.5 vs 0.5 per day; P <.001). Conclusions Social media is a feasible modality for delivering public health messages focused on preventing pediatric burn injuries. Engagement with these ads is influenced by ad presentation and the focus of the underlying injury prevention message.